Natalia Mayara doesn’t hide from her differences; she embraces them — and that’s exactly why her story keeps resonating.
Originally from Recife, Brazil, the retired Paralympic athlete says she came from “very humble” beginnings.
“It was me, my mom, my uncle, my aunt, my cousin, and my grandma all living in a little two-bedroom apartment. My family came from an even rougher background than me. My mom grew up basically selling things on the street, trying to help my grandma raise all the other kids. She was like a go-getter, like a hustler. She was always working, always doing everything she could to take care of me,” Mayara tells PEOPLE.
Her life changed at two years old. Sitting on her mom’s lap at a bus stop outside a hospital, a bus approached at speed, lost control and hit her. She was thrown, and when the panicked driver tried to flee, he ran over her legs, with the vehicle ultimately stopping on top of her before he fled on foot. Those onboard rushed off the bus and lifted it off her, and she was rushed inside the hospital.
She was given a 2% chance of survival… but that’s all Natalia needed.
“It’s kind of bittersweet, because as from one side, I wish I had some memory of that because it’s something that changed my life. And the other side, I feel like it’s probably best that I don’t remember anything,” she explains. She fractured her skull in the accident, and says even her mother’s memories are “blurry” as a form of protection from what she witnessed.
Responding in the comments section, Natalia says she does forgive the bus driver.
In a video shared to her Instagram page – in response to so many people asking what happened to her legs – Mayara’s own retelling underscores the chaos and the improbable chain of saves that followed: “I was given 2% chance of survival. I actually even had a death certificate with my name, which is wild to think about. But it turns out 2% was all I needed.”
She jokes that it’s “ironic” that she had been visiting the hospital after developing a rash on her feet.
Recovery wasn’t linear. Accessibility was an everyday hurdle, as she was living “on the second floor. No elevators, no wider doors, nothing.”
And her family sacrificed to keep her in care: “My dad sold the tables, the stove, the TV. I remember going into the apartment, and there was only a mattress on the ground.” Growing meant surgeries: “I had to get surgery every year from when I was 3 until I was about 16. Some years where I grew really fast, they had to do it twice.”
She learned prosthetics early — “They look simple, but there’s a whole thing of balance to it. And it hurts.” — but ultimately chose the tool that fit her life best: her wheelchair. “I just felt like whenever I was in a wheelchair, I was a lot more capable. I could do more things. I was faster, I was more agile. I just felt like I was more self-sufficient.” She still uses prosthetics “when they benefit me,” like in the gym.
Sport arrived organically. Swimming lessons with nondisabled kids flipped a competitive switch: “I got invited to start competing for Brazil for swimming and I did.” Then tennis called from a court beside the pool: “Once you’re good at something, you don’t want to switch,” she admits — but she did, and “fell in love” with competing on the court.
Support at home never wavered. “They were there every step of the way.” And her outlook stayed unshakable: “I never asked my mom, ‘Why don’t I have legs?’… I really do think that everything happens for a reason.”
Earlier this year, bodybuilding became Natalia’s next chapter. At the end of May, she competed in a bodybuilding competition for the first time, Muscle Contest Idaho, an National Physique Committee (NPC) national competition.
Reflecting on her newfound passion, she wrote on Instagram: “Back in February, I set out to do something that felt completely out of my comfort zone. And now, three months later, I’m on the other side of it proud of myself for showing up, and completely overwhelmed by this feeling of accomplishment.
“It was fourteen weeks of giving something everything I had. Early mornings, late nights, cardio after a full day of work, posing practice until my arms gave out, and every meal weighed to the gram.
“There were so many moments I questioned if I could do this. When I was too tired, too sore, or too in my head. But I kept showing up, because I made a commitment to myself, and because I knew I could do hard things.
“I went from someone who had zero idea how to pose… someone who was once over 60 pounds heavier… someone who used to shy away from the stage, bikinis or make up… to standing under the lights proud of the work I put in.
“This prep changed me. I learned how much stronger I am when I stop doubting and just DO. And even though my time on stage is short, it reflects months of effort, discipline, and growth that I’ll carry with me forever.
“And even though it was hard, it was also SO fun. I had fun with the people around me. I fell in love with the lifestyle, the structure, the focus, the goal-driven mindset. I truly loved the process. This was one of the coolest experiences of my life and I can’t wait to do it all over again.”
If there’s one message she wants readers to leave with, it’s as direct as it is optimistic: “I want people to know that everything is possible… You can really achieve whatever you set your mind to, and you really dedicate yourself to.”
On her birthday back in April, she wrote: “At 2 years old, I was given 2% chance of survival, yet here I am, celebrating another year of a life filled with fulfillment, accomplishments and happiness. A life that I wouldn’t trade for any other. A life of rewriting what’s possible.
“From hospital rooms to becoming an athlete performing on the world stage, and now embarking on my professional career, this life has been anything but ordinary. Every scar, every win, every setback, they all tell my story and remind me what it truly means to defy the odds.
“So if you ever think something is impossible, too hard, or out of reach, remember… 2% is all you need.”
Takeaway: a 2% chance was enough — and Mayara keeps turning it into 100% effort!
Featured image credit: Instagram/@natalia_mayara
